Apparatus for precooling and cooling railroad cars



Jan. 1, 1957 w. w. PRINCE 2,775,871

APPARATUS FOR PRECOOLING AND COOLING RAILROAD CARS Filed April 16, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 1, 1957 w. w. PRINCE 2,775,371

APPARATUS FOR PRECOOL-ING AND COOLING RAILROAD CARS Filed April 16, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v J72 U??? for R ZVZ ZZzam @badfiz'flc? United States Patent APPARATUS FOR PRECOOLING AND COOLING RAILROAD CARS William Wood Prince, Chicago, 111., assignor to Union Stock Yards and Transit Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application April 16, 1953, Serial No. 349,292

4 Claims. (Cl. 62-24) My invention relates to method and apparatus for precooling and cooling railroad cars and the like and their contents. I

One object of my invention is to provide method and apparatus especially applicable to shipment of vegetables and the like by rail.

Another object is to provide method and apparatus for cooling vegetables and the like in transit Without the use of ice.

Another object is to provide method and apparatus for cooling a plurality of cold chambers by the circulation of cold, supersaturated air from a single central source.

Another object is to provide method and apparatus for withdrawing the air from a plurality of such chambers and returning it for recirculation whereby there is a continuous circulation of the cooling moisture-laden air from a single refrigerating source through a plurality of separate cooling chambers arranged in parallel,

I propose to compress air, cool it, and thereafter cause it to expand and do work for further cooling down to approximately the freezing point of water without loss of humidity even though the outside temperature is in the order of ninety to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit or more and I propose to discharge such cooled air in supersaturated condition, having more than one hundred percent relative humidity from a central refrigerating source to a plurality of refrigerator cars or refrigeration chambers in parallel, withdrawing from such cars or chambers in parallel the air therefrom which will be re turned for reprocessing, recooling and recirculation.

Cars for the shipment of vegetables, such as cabbages, lettuce and the like have in the past been cooled by discharging into them comminuted water ice in finely divided or snow-like condition which can be left in the car so as to maintain the temperature of the vegetables at a safe shipping and transportation point.

The difiiculty with this solution of the problem, however, is that the car must be stopped at a point where ice is available and can be broken up and discharged into the car. The ice then melts, the contents of the car are wetted by the resultant water and slime may form on the vegetables and outsides of cabbages, lettuce heads and the like may show a wilted, soggy, unsatisfactory condition.

Air is always available and if I discharge into a car or preferably into a series of cars in a train, cold moisture-laden air and continue such discharge as the train travels, the vegetables may be cooled Without wilting and sliming.

Patented Jan. 1, 1957:

It is not commercially practicable in many instances to place on each car the necessary refrigerating machinery.

I propose to couple into a train, a refrigeration machinery or air cooling car with the necessary refrigerav ing mechanism, to join this car in train with a number of vegetable containing, refrigeration or cold storage cars and to connect the storage cars in train with the machinery car by flexible conduits so that the cold, saturated or supersaturated air will be discharged into each car and the warm air will be withdrawn from each car in parallel and returned to the refrigeration car for recooling.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specification and claims.

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a general assembly plan view in part section of a train of cars equipped with my invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view in part section on an enlarged scale of one of the refrigerator cars;

Figure 3 is a vertical section along the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse section along the line 44 of Figure 2.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

1 is an air cooling car equipped for travel along a railroad track in the usual manner. 2, 2 are compressor, cooler expanders, which for convenience I prefer to call turbo blizzards, carried by the car. 3 is a refrigerating machine adapted to supply coolant to the turbo blizzards whereby the heat of compression is removed from the air, after it has been compressed and before it is caused to expand and do work for further cooling.

4, 4 are supply ducts and 5, 5 return ducts on the air cooling car. These ducts terminate at the ends of the car and are connected respectively to the discharge and intake sides of the turbo blizzard. 6 is an air supply and.

7 an air return duct extending from end to end of each of the refrigerator cold storage cars 8 coupled in train: 9 are removable bellows type; connections joining respectively the supply and return;

with the air cooling car.

ducts in adjacent cars.

10 is a damper or valve at each end of each duct 011 each car. They are normally open but may be manually closed when necessary at the ends of the supply and return ducts at the end of a group of cold storage cars in train.

11 is an ice bunker at each end of each of the refrigerator cars, so arranged that when ice is placed in the bunker, air cooled by the ice will escape therefrom and circulate through the body of the car and about the foodstuffs contained therein.

12 is a discharge branch pipe extending downwardly from each of the ducts into the ice bunker. 13 is a manually adjustable valve in each of the branch pipes which may be opened, to permit cold air to flow from the supply duct into the ice bunker. 14 is a return port in each of the ducts adjacent the center of the car. 15 is a manually actuated damper to open or close the port 14.

Since it is never known in advance which end of a refrigerator c'ar assembled in a train Will be the forward end, and since it is essential that the cold air reach the car through the ice bunker at the ends of the car and the spent air leave the car from the center, after it has circulated about the cargo, each duct must be able to serve interchangeably as part of the air supply or the air return circuit. After the cars are coupled in train with the air cooling car and the ducts have been connected by the removable connections, the crew will open valves except at the ends of the ducts furthest from the air cooling car. The crew will also open valves 13 between the branch pipes and the duct connected to the discharge side of .the turbo blizzard. The valves 15 in the supply ducts .will .be. closed, .the valves 15in the return ducts will be opened and the valves 12 will be closed between the branch pipes from the return duct.

Whenthese steps have been taken, the turbo blizzard will be freeto discharge cold moist air through the supply ducts, thence through theice bunkers for circulation of the air about the material in the car and to withdraw spent air through the return ducts after such circulation. The interior of each car is thus in parallel between the supply and return ducts.

By this arrangement, all the cars are in parallelwith the air cooling car and always cold air from the supply line enters the car, passes through it and returns to the air cooling car in closed circuit so that the air cooling apparatus works on air which has already been cooled and used before its recirculation.

Since the ice bunker serves when used to carry out my invention as a plenum chamber rather than an ice receiving chamber, removable partitions 16 are used to close the upper portion of the ice bunker so that the air discharged under pressure from the supply duct into the bunker will not escape from the open top thereof but will be discharged from the bottom thereof for circulation about the contents of the car.

Valves 17 may close the ends of the ducts in the air cooling car. This is especially important if instead of two separate turbo blizzard supplying cars at opposite ends of thetrain, the supply and return ducts extend from end to end of the cooling car and air may move in opposite directions with respect to the air cooling car in a closed system where the refrigerator cars are always in parallel with the turbo blizzard.

My invention therefore requires but a minimum change in the refrigerator cars now in use on the railroads. Nothing has to be removed. The supply and return ducts may be suspended from the roof of the car adjacent the walls in the clearance space normally left above the load. The valves at the end of the car maybe closed, the partitions 16 may be removed, the branches 12 may be removed and the bunker used for ice in the usual Way without any interference.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

It is important that fresh moisture-laden, cold air from the refrigeration apparatus enter each car in the train which is supplied by the apparatus. It is also important that the spent air, war-med as a result of its contact with the interior ofthe car and its contents be returned directly to the relrigerating plant. Therefore, it is necessary toprovide two separate conduits extendingfrom the refrigerating plant through each of the cars to be cooled,

arranged in parallel so that some of the air is discharged from the conduit: to each car and air is withdrawn from each car and returned to the refrigerating plant.

I have illustrated this invention as applied to a series of refrigerator cars in train with an air cooling car. Obviously the same principle could apply to a series of cooling chambers associated in parallel with an air cooling apparatus fixed in place.

While under many circumstances the arrangement of ?lil'=CO0illlg apparatus which compresses, cools and expands the air for cooling is highly desirable, it is always possible that under some circumstances different means of cooling the air before :it is sent to the refrigerator-car could be used.v Any oneof the well known air cooling means, brine, spray, fog, even cold surfaces or coils could be used, though, of course, allsuch apparatuses have the defect that they tend to dry the air.

One important advantage to the air compression, cooling and expansion system which I prefer is that it does discharge into the system supersaturated cold air, perhaps sometimes saturated air which to a minimum extent tends to desiccate vegetables or meat being shipped or stored.

Since cars equipped according to my invention may be used interchangeably for cooling by forced cold air circulation or for cooling by ice, under some circumstances it will be even more desirable to 'use both at the same time.

If the ice bunkers are filled with ice, the removable cover being removed for that purpose, if thereafter the cover is replaced, then the forced cold air circulation will be through the bunker around the ice and then .into the car for return in the usual manner. The cold air forced through the bunker will reduce to a :minimum or perhaps altogether prevent melting the ice in the bunker so that at the end of the trip when the individual refrigerator car is cut out of the train and so no longer cooled by forced circulation of cold air, the ice in the bunker will immediately go to work to maintain refrigerated conditions in the individual car. In a sense it is like a battery floating on the line. The battery is kept charged by the current supply. In this case, the ice bunker floats on the air line, the ice is kept, if not at or below freezing at least at a very low temperature by the forced air circulation the return passage and the intake side .of the cooling means, each'duct on each refrigerator'car being ported to permit air flow from the supply to the return duct through the car whereby a closed air circulating system is provided, each refrigerator car being in parallel with the air cooling means, the ports in one duct on each refrigerator car being adjacent opposite ends of the car and the ports on another duct in said car being adjacent the.

center of the car.

2. A refrigerator car having an ice bunker at each end, ported for discharge of cold air to the lower portion of the interior of the car body, separate air ducts extending longitudinally of the car, branch pipes extending from each duct to each bunker, a valve, controlling flow through each branch 'pipe, a removable closure'for each bunker apertured 'in register with each' branch pipe, a discharge port in each duct intermediate the ends of the car and a valve controlling each port.

3. A refrigerator car having an icebunker-at each end, ported for discharge of cold air to the lower portion of the interior of the car body, separate air ducts extending longitudinally of-the ca-r, branch pipes extending from each duct to eachbunker, a valve, controlling flow through each. branch pipe, a removable closure for each "bunker aperturedin register with each branch pipe,

a discharge port in: each duct intermediate the ends of the car and .a valve controlling each-port, valves at each end of each air duct.

4. A refrigerator car having an ice bunker at each end, ported for discharge of cold air to the lower portion of the interiorof the car body, separate ;air ducts extending longitudinally of the .car, branch pipes extending from each duct to each bunker, a valve, controlling-flow.

through each .branch' pipe, a removable closure for each bunker apertured in register with each branch pipe, a discharge port in each duct intermediate the ends of the car References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 227,874 Babbott May 25, 1880 236,765 Bowen Jan. 18, 1881 294,209 Doughty Feb. 26, 1884 6 Mandeville Mar. 26, 1907 Edson Sept. 3, 1907 Sprague Mar. 10, 1908 Thomas Oct. 26, 1909 Paget Nov. 30, 1909 Day June 23, 1931 Miller Sept. 5, 1933 Goodman Mar. 2, 1937 Stcbbins Nov. 21, 1939 

